Safes have been used to store money and other valuables for hundreds of years. In an age of convenience stores, the need for safes has became even more acute. An excess of cash in the cash register is an easy target for a robber or a dishonest employee. Therefore, safes have been developed which allow a clerk to clear excess cash and coin from the cash register and store that money in the safe. However, due to the number of transactions conducted in a convenience store, money must be accessible to some extent. Therefore, safes have been developed with both temporary and permanent storage compartments.
An example of a safe having separate temporary and permanent storage compartments is the AUTOBANK IQ by Allied-Gary International of Waynesboro, Ga. Money placed into a permanent storage compartment cannot be retrieved until an authorized employee arrives with a key, typically once every twenty-four hours. Permanent storage is merely a drop slot which leads to an inner lock box. Money placed into temporary storage must first be placed into reusable plastic tubes. For example, forty quarters can be placed into a tube. This tube is then inserted into a portal uniquely designated for quarters. The clerk instructs the safe that he is going to deposit the money by pressing a "load" key. The safe then prompts the clerk for his employee identification number. The safe then prompts the clerk to load the tube into the appropriate portal. The safe counts the tubes as they are inserted. Once loaded, the tube enters a partitioned storage area. The clerk might then place twenty one dollar bills from the register into another plastic tube and insert it into a second portal which is uniquely designated for one dollar bills. Again, the deposit is entered into a control panel specially designed to accept this data entry. The tube containing the one dollar bills is then stored in a partitioned storage area separate from other denominations of currency. Separate portals are provided for each common denomination of coin and cash. If the cash register later runs short of a particular currency, the clerk can access the money in the temporary storage of the safe. He must enter an appropriate code or command on the control panel along with the amount requested. For instance, if the cash drawer is short on one dollar bills, the clerk can request a tube of one dollar bills. A tube is released from its partitioned space and then dispensed to a tray on the front of the safe. The bills therein are then placed back into the register.
Sophisticated safes such as the Autobank IQ provide a balance between security and audit capabilities. During a robbery, the cash in the register is the easiest target. If the robber is willing to wait, he can compel the clerk to dispense money from the temporary storage of the safe. However, as an added precaution, this money can only be dispensed at a specific or controlled rate. For example, a withdrawal might be allowed every two minutes. The rate at which money can be dispensed can be varied according to the time of day. A thief at night is usually unwilling to risk waiting for more than one withdrawal from the temporary storage. However, in the middle of the day, a clerk might need access at a quicker rate.
A dishonest employee is deterred from pocketing cash from the register because the safe incorporates a program which tallies the deposits and withdrawals. At the end of a reporting period, such as a day or an eight hour shift, a record of the amount of money deposited into the temporary and permanent storage compartments is retrieved. The record is a simple audit trail of the entries made to the control panel. This amount can then be compared to the cash register's record of sales for the same reporting. Balancing these amounts often takes too much valuable managerial time.
The Autobank IQ and similar safes have several drawbacks. First, it is difficult to accurately audit money that is deposited into a permanent storage. The clerk making the deposit should enter the correct amount. However, if he pockets a portion of the deposit, an auditor reviewing the audit trail after three eight-hour shifts can not determine which shift committed the theft. Secondly, the safe cannot identify counterfeit money used for a purchase. Last, if a supervisor with a key to the safe wants to steal money, he can open the safe, withdraw the money, and then damage the electronic memory device which contained the audit information, including his identification number, as the employee who last opened the safe.
Therefore, a need exists for an intelligent safe which provides a more complete audit trail. Such a safe should provide a way to validate the authenticity, denomination and number of bills being inserted into permanent storage. The safe should also include an auxiliary memory device which is hidden from the clerk's view.